Michigan vs. Utah: Defense gives the Wolverines a chance in 24-17 loss
It wasn’t so much what Devontae Booker did — senior runningback for the Utah Utes who ran for 1,512 yards and 10 touchdowns last season — but what he didn’t do that gave the Michigan defense fits in Thursday night’s 24-17 loss in Salt Lake City.
Booker entered Week 1 of the 2015 schedule as Utah’s most dangerous offensive weapon, having racked up more than 100 yards of total offense in nine of the team’s final 10 games last season. Because of that, he drew a ton of attention from the Michigan defense, so much that it opened up holes for other Utes to make big plays.
Make no mistake; the Wolverines’ game plan to shut down Booker was quite clear and very successful, holding the senior runningback to just 69 yards on 22 attempts. However, Utah responded by using Booker as a decoy on play action and involved him in the passing game enough to exploit Michigan’s overcompensation to shut down the Utes’ running game.
Early on, Utah quarterback Travis Wilson utilized the read option to rack up big plays on the ground including 13- and 14-yard gains, that latter going for a touchdown and a 17-3 lead early in the third quarter.
With Wolverine linebackers Joe Bolden (13 tackles) and Desmond Morgan (10 tackles) keying in on the run, the 6-foot-7 Wilson found some success through the air. On play-action passes, Wilson picked up gains of 20 yards to receiver Britain Covey and 18 yards to Harrison Handley.
Scoring just 17 points, the defensive unit is really what kept the Wolverines in the game. Despite lengthy offensive possessions, Utah was held to not one but two long field-goal attempts first in the in the second quarter (48 yards), and again in the fourth quarter (46 yards). Utes junior kicker Andy Phillips — a preseason Lou Groza Award candidate — came into the game 40-for-48 in career field-goal attempts, but the Michigan defense made key stops to force the kicker out of his comfort zone.
An opening-day loss is a difficult pill to swallow but if there’s one takeaway from Thursday’s 24-17 loss to the Utes, it’s that the defense played well. In its first game under coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan was successful in shutting down the opponent’s biggest weapon and limited the ground game. Bolden and Morgan were strong against the run while Jabrill Peppers and Jarrod Wilson contained the passing game.
If the offense continues to struggle this season, the defense will have to continue to perform like it did on Thursday night in order for this team to have success.
Peppers Performs
After playing in just three games last season, many anticipated the impact sophomore cornerback Jabrill Peppers would have in 2015. While he was far from perfect, the highly-touted prospect out of East Orange, N.J., led the UM secondary with eight tackles including a big tackle for loss on a third-down swing pass in which Peppers slipped past a blocker to get to the ball carrier four yards deep into the backfield. Peppers showed great instincts and was aggressive on short-yardage plays but he did get beat by freshman wide receiver Britain Covey who snuck past the cornerback inside for a 20-yard gain across the middle of the field.
Not-so-special Teams
Like the quarterback position, the responsibility of kicker was not made known to the public until the game got underway Thursday night. Senior Kenny Allen earned kicking duties for the night and was less than stellar. He finished the night 1-for-2 on field-goal attempts, converting from 29 yards and missing from 44 yards. The missed field goal didn’t end up being the difference but if Michigan can’t connect from 40 yards or more, it will make putting up points that much more of a challenge. Also worth noting, Allen had not one but two attempts at an onside kick with 54 seconds left in regulation and both times the kick skipped across the turf and out of bounds without any chance for a recovery.